Since the beginning, I’ve been telling ya’ll we’ve got to quit spending and making obligations that we can’t afford in the future. I began this blog in 2005 after first being elected. I quickly learned of the overflow of cash comming into the coffers of the state. Instead of spending every penny that come’s in, why not build up trust funds and make one time improvements on our roads?
It’s not a revenue problem, it is a spending problem as I have been telling you this: Here05.04.17, Here05.06.17, Here05.12.14, Here06.21.06,
Here06.02.09, Here06.02.08, Here06.04.30, Here06.05.18, Here06.05.12, Here06.06.05, Here06.12.07, Here07.01.28, Here07.03.15, Here07.04.30, Here07.04.27, Here07.04.26, Here07.04.24, Here07.04.24, Here07.04.21, Here07.04.12, Here07.05.20, Here07.06.21, Here07.06.06, Here07.08.31, Here07.10.19, Here07.11.08, Here08.01.31, Here08.01.09, Here08.02.20, Here08.02.19, Here08.02.14, Here08.03.26, Here08.03.20, Here08.03.13, Here08.04.30, Here08.04.16, Here08.04.15, Here08.04.10, Here08.04.09, Here08.04.08, Here08.04.04, Here08.05.27, Here08.05.20, Here08.06.19, Here08.06.09, Here08.06.05, and Here08.07.29,
Tax revenue down, comptroller says from the Charleston Post and Courier
COLUMBIA — South Carolina Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom said Thursday that tax collections fell by as much as 3 percent in July.
Eckstrom said he expects the state’s financial leaders on Tuesday will set aside a state reserve account to head off future shortfalls from a weak economy. And he said he expects the state will set aside money from agency budgets.
Eckstrom said data he reviewed showed that state income tax refunds in July increased by about $27 million from year-ago levels.
[...] Sen. Kevin Bryant: blog from the backbench | tys (told you so) [...]
Senator Bryant,
Our State roads and bridges are in desperate need of repair and maintenance. We cannot hold them hostage to promises of cutting spending, which never materialize. We need to tax gasoline based on a percentage of the sales price, and we need to dedicate the revenue to upgrading our infrastructure. It requires political courage to do so. However, it is the only reasonable, realistic solution.
Art, how about the reasonable, realistic solution of putting some of the new $3b in revenue since 2003 into roads and bridges?
Instead, the General Assembly spends hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars on frog jumps and local armory buildings.
$7.1b a year is plenty. The government doesn’t need more of our money, but that won’t stop them from trying to take it.
Exactly.
Taxes go up = economy goes down…that’s not the way to go.
Your exactly right that the GOV needs to make more money than they spend.
Palmetto Conservative,
Since my first day in America 40 years ago, I heard about government waste and inefficiency. Obviously, there is no cure to this problem; it is the nature of the beast. However, some of our basic services as education, justice system, and infrastructure cannot be put on hold, while we are looking for magical solutions to eternal challenges.
We need dedicated revenues to essential services, while we attempt to better manage government finances.
Art, couldn’t agree more. So, I say again, when revenues go up by the hundreds of millions, put some dedicated money in the budget for roads. The General Assembly, instead of doing that, keeps debating a new fuel tax. It’s not about our pockets, it’s about their priorities.
Palmetto Conservative,
Financing the upgrading of our roads and bridges should rely on a reasonable percentage of the sales of fuel, and this revenue should be protected from the political war surrounding other state revenues. However, if we achieve a surplus in the state general fund, the additional money can be dedicated to a reserve fund, to cover the inevitable coming deficit years.